


A Crash Course

by Agrimar



Category: Crash and Burn (Webcomic), Crash and Burn - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Breakups, Crack, Fingering, Oral Sex, Other, Recreational Drug Use, Sex Toys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2019-09-05 07:22:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16806076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agrimar/pseuds/Agrimar
Summary: Meta-human and "wanted" criminal Ash finds their way to a sleepy college town populated by bird-like aliens, the Orno. Is forced to make some choices on what's worth leaving.Stressed med-student Malkut has been having issues maintaining xeir relationship with xeir lover, Ketier. Things start to change when a mysterious newcomer starts showing up wherever xe is.





	1. Long day, huh?

The moon hung heavy in the sky; the only witness to a cargo train’s slow, controlled stop. The hiss of steam and the clank of hydraulic locks engaging covered the noise as first a bag, then a figure slipped out of a car and landed on the packed gravel. Ash grabbed their bag and stretched, their back popping from being crowded in with the arriving shipment. They looked around for cameras, didn’t see any, and ran over to the fence that wrapped around the train yard. Ash smirked when they saw the barbed wire, and gently traced their fingers across the chain links as vegetation, green and vibrant, enveloped the fence completely. They scrambled over the fence, feet touching down, just as someone from the other side began to shout. 

“What the hell?”

Ash grinned a full and wild grin as they gestured and the vines wrapping the fence began to bloom into an enormous, multicolored, middle finger. They sprinted down the road away from the train yard, grabbing a tattered notebook out of their bag as they went. Ash mumbled as they flipped through the pages.

“Fuckin third stop after the red cars get picked up is… Bells’ Hollow. Huh, sounds like a hellhole, might be able to post up for a while. What's all here though...” 

Ash rummaged through their bag, grabbing out a battered smartphone, years out of date. They unlocked the screen and a text they’ve read a thousand times stands in stark blue and white. ‘Gotta go, don’t wait up. - Gman’

Ash ignored the text and the familiar pain it brought with it, launched the browser and gave the town’s name a quick search; it was dangerous to use this phone at all but it wasn’t like they had a lot of options. Honestly, fuck it. The feds might show up and Ash would run again, it wasn’t that hard. Ads for the local college flooded the screen, and Ash almost scrolled past of all of them, but the last caught their eye. 

“The Ethics of Vigilantism? Advanced Flames; Elementalism in The Modern Age? The fuck kind of school is this?”

Ash knew college kids were easy to make some quick cash off of, so it seemed to them that it was at least a stop before bugging out and ditching town. They could see their breath frosting in the air as they started walking down the road toward Bell's Hollow— it was going to be a long walk.

Malkut set the coffee down on xeir desk next to the seven other styrofoam cups xe has yet to clear away; reaches for a pack of cigarettes xe hadn’t had time to replace. Xe knew how to handle stress, how to thrive under pressure; xe shouldn’t be falling apart like this. It was too much all the fucking time and it was no surprise to them when the pager clipped to xeir pocket buzzed out. Malkut brushed one hand back through xeir feathers, heaving one last sob. Malkut wiped the tears from xeir cheeks, straightened xeir scrubs, schooled their face into a scowl and walked determinedly out of the small room. People who saw Malkut walking hurried to get out of xeir path, they knew that Malkut's incredible wit and bad moods usually expressed themselves at the cost of others’ dignity. 

Xe made it to the room the idiot human ‘doctors’ had called xem to, sanitizing and pulling gloves on. The doctors had laid out the patient's consent forms on the table, knowing that Malkut would refuse to treat someone before seeing them. The patient's heart wasn't responding to defibrillation; or rather, as Malkut laid xeir hand on the patient's leg, xe realized that it was but not returning to a regular sinus rhythm. Xe let the world fade away, focusing xeir mind on xeir power and reached out, spending some of xeir own energy, pushing the heart to begin healing the damage the machine had caused and encouraging the body back to stability. Malkut opened xeir eyes, listening to the surgeon's usual praise with only faint contempt showing. Xe understood that humanity was new to its powers, that those with biological abilities were still yet untrained, but was it really too much to ask that one other competent medic be kept in house? 

“If you need me,” Malkut began in the tone of voice burly individuals in black suits used to say ‘shame if something happened to your family,’ “I shall be in my office, doing coursework. Thank you.” 

“Malkut, as always we appreci—”

“Do try,” Malkut interrupted, “Not to need me for the next hour or so. Please.” 

Malkut stalked back to xeir office, slammed the door shut and slouched back down in xeir chair. Xe set xeir cellphone on the table and regarded it with a mournful stare. 

“Listen, Phone, I know that it is Tuesday and Chised will soon call to invite me to xeir weekly get together, but I do wish that just this once xe will forget.”

Xe signed deeply, picked up xeir pen and began to work at one of the sheets of work xe had been assigned. Xe had to admit that although unskilled workers on the whole, any given human’s education exposed them to an incredible breadth of information that the mentorship and apprenticeship programs of the Orno lacked. Xe was not going to allow that to be the case for xem, however. If humans could be expected to be generalists, xe would become the best at that as well; show the humand how it was truly done and what an opportunity they were wasting. Malkut wrote perfectly and precisely, each answer double or triple-checked before pen touched paper, the sun slowly setting in the window. 

Malkut inspired, xe found, a kind of absolute silence when xe worked on something that drew xeir full attention. Xe would focus and others would stop talking or get out of xeir way; it was a useful skill for a person who found xeir coworkers as useless as xey did. The silence carved its way into the world using Malkut’s intense focus as its chisel, and at the moment that it seemed that sound itself had vacated the world in fear of xeir glare, a bright chirping filled the room.

“I had thought we had reached an agreement, you— Hello, Chised. It is lovely to hear from you, but unfortunat—” Malkut stilled as Chised’s voice came across the line.

“Malkut you are making the mistake of giving to me a promise and now giving to me an excuse. You will be there because I made the party for a day you are less busy, and you will be there because it has been one month almost since we have been with the group.”

“I am aware of that; you should be aware of how often your plans and my obligations stand at an impa—”

“You could clear that hospital in days if you chose; if you do not want to see us do not use the sick as your reason.”

“Fine, Chised. I will be at your gathering. I will likely be exhausted, so if I do show up, drink, and pass out in a chair I do apologize.”

“Votakh will call you a… ‘Scrub’ if you do!”

Malkut ended the call and sent the phone skidding across xeir desk. Xe had a party to go to tonight, and that meant xe wasn’t going to leave a single at-risk patient untreated before xe left. Malkut sighed dramatically; it was going to be a long night.


	2. Fascinating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's easy to forget how tired you are, until you're forced to confront something new.

Ash’s hands flew out, waving wildly in the air as another car barreled past them walking the dirt path toward town. The Subaru what-the-hell ever didn’t even have the fuckin decency to wave as it passed.

“Just my fuckin luck, isn’t it? Eh, whatever, it’s cold but not the worst I’ve been through.” 

Ash chuckled as they said that, a kind of self-deprecating tone obvious in their speech.

“Wait, no way!”

Red brake lights kicked on down the road, the car pulling over to the side as Ash jogged up to it. A couple of college students were obviously arguing in the front, and the passenger side window opened up as Ash walked forward. 

“Hey there, green dude, I’m Shay. You’re not gonna like stab us or whatever right? Tell Jon he’s being an idiot, okay?” 

“Well, green dude, since I guess that’s how we greet strangers now, tell Shay that it’s my car and I’m cool givin you a ride into town unless you call me an idiot. They sometimes need to be reminded to be fuckin polite,” Jon said while he pointed his thumb at the passenger side. “Get in back there, keep your backpack in your lap and like just be cool?”

“Yeah man I appreciate it; I’ll keep stabbing to myself unless you really ask nice,” Ash said as they popped the door and slid in.

Jon started the car up; a small cloud of dust trailing up behind it as it progressed down the road. Ash sat there, quietly happy at the way their luck seemed to be improving.

“So what the hell has someone walking alone in the dark?” 

“Oh, fuck off dude. If….” 

“Ashwyn, ” Ash said, panicking.

“Ashwyn wanted to talk they would. They’re just chillin in the back, like you asked, let them chill. You’ve been real high strung lately, Malkut getting to you again?”

“Yeah man. Xe’s always intense but today xe had me running tests nonstop. I get that Xe’s some kind of super-doctor but god xe needs to just chill and get fuckin stoned sometimes,” Jon said, shaking his head, “Like I get it, I totally fucking understand that that must be a lot of pressure but it’s like, lately, xe keeps letting work pile up to the point xe has to spend all of xeir free time there! Fuckin… Fuck. Hey, Ashwyn, is it cool if I smoke?” 

“I mean it’s your car, man. To like get back to your question I’m new here to town? I’m like fuckin meta or whatever; thought it’d be cool to come visit and see what a school built for someone like me would look like. Maybe pop in, get the lay of the land, try and enroll next semester or what the fuck ever.” Ash motioned with their hands as they spoke, but almost listlessly. 

“Oh yeah, dude, nice! Well if you’re looking to socialize with some students and kind of get the lay of the land, we’re on our way to a party and the RA of the meta dorms will be there so we could, um, Shay why are you staring at me like that?”

“OHHH we shouldn’t pull over, OHHH we’re gonna get stabbed, Shay! I know we are! OHHHH WOE IS ME WHY MY DEAR PARTNER DO YOU MAKE ME SACRIFICE LIKE THIS? Oh wait the stranger’s cute and wants to go to my school let’s invite them to a party? Man I’m cool with it but like… I’m gonna give you a hard fuckin time about it. ”

Jon laughed, grabbed a lighter and lit his joint, about to puff on it.  
“Hey man, you shouldn’t smoke that. It smells like Diazinon or some kind of organophosphate, whoever was growing that didn’t clean the insecticides off of it before they dried it out. Won't kill you probably? Might make you sick.” Shay turned around, one eyebrow raised as Ash continued; “I’ve… got a lot of experience with plants.”

“Fuck it, man” Jon said, tossing the smoke out the window, “I’ll just smoke at the party”

“Oh no, dude, I've got ya. Consider it payment for the ride.” 

Ash reached into their bag using the fabric to obscure their hand as they grew a bud and pulled the water back out of it. They pinched it off, ignoring the sharp instant of pain it always brought with it, and started to break the pot down. 

“Homegrown, organic, I know someone who grows it all themself, man. Keeps it local, keeps it fresh, keeps it clean. I’ve got you this time, but if you know any like good leads this is kind of how I’m bankrolling this visit so like point me there. Not that I'm like a dealer or anything… To answer your question I’m not opposed to hanging? Is this a like everyone gets messed up and crashes the night kind of place or?”

“Oh yeah that should be fine.” Shay answered, cutting Jon off, “I will warn you against pocketing anything though. Chised tends to have an eye for that kind of thing and can ruin your rep around here faster than anyone else. Everyone knows, and owes, that canny Orno.”

The three drove along the old dirt road into town, chatting companionably while getting pleasantly high. Ash’s green hair blew in the wind as the smoke coiled around them, and before too long Jon told them that they were getting close to campus. He pointed out the buildings across the quad, newly and well constructed, explaining where the various departments were located. 

Ash caught themself before they could make comments about how pretentious and expensive it all seemed. They tried to keep in mind that they had to try to blend in for a bit because their funds were bone fuckin dry after dropping them on a fake ID they had to toss after only a few weeks. The car turned down a well-lit street, close enough to the campus that the sign for the Bell’s University of Meta Development turn off was still visible from the driveway.

“Hey Ashwyn, I’m gonna go ask Chised if it’s cool that we invited someone. Be right back,” he said, before stepping out of the car and immediately bro hugging someone and walking to the door.

“I mean this is really KT’s place but so is like half of campus so like… Yeah it’s close enough to say Chised’s,” Shay explained, shrugging when Ash turned a sharp gaze on them. 

Ash could feel a kind of red-hot spark in their chest as they considered, for a brief moment, how much all that land and property would cost. They got a hold on their emotions and smiled as Jon came back, nodding. 

“Xe says you’re cool! Come on! We’ll introduce you!”

Ash scrambled out of the car before they tripped, slamming fairly hard into the ground before groaning and getting up. Shay and Jon looked on, torn somewhere between sympathetic and laughing, as Ash got up off the ground. They could already feel the bruise spreading across their ribs.

Malkut groaned as xe saw one of the students xe managed walk in the front door. Xe set xeir drink on a short table in the entryway.

“Come now, Chised. Really? I see them all day and you want me to spend my free time with them too?”

“Maybe now you will stop doing the hiding from the rest of us, retreating to whatever balcony you can find and shoving your face with food if you know I will be sending those ones after you!”

Chised smirked a bit as Malkut’s face dropped. Xe didn’t want to upset xem, but knew malkut needed some time to decompress around xeir friends, and would refuse to take that time unprompted. The door opened and Malkut had to do a double-take. Past the fools that xe had to waste time monitoring constantly, there was an exceptionally colorful human. Xe knew the beings were diverse in coloration, but had never seen one so vividly green before. Xe also saw that they were limping.

Malkut looked around the room, spotting Ketier being flirted with by a man in a colorful suit, basking in his compliments. Xe decided that talking to the two… students would be less painful than trying to deal with that. Xe stood from xeir chair, darkness creeping in a bit at the edges of xeir vision.

“Ah, you two. Unable to treat your friend? I thought I’d taught you at least enough for that.” 

Malkut didn’t necessarily mean for the question to come out so caustic and accusative, but xe wasn’t trying to hold it back, either. Xe had been healing all day and was exhausted. Chised stood behind xem as xe walked forward, a more serious grin on xeir face now. The green human had a strange expression on their face, one that got stranger as xe got closer. If xe wasn’t so focused on them, xe might have missed them say ‘ oh wow. Tall.’ in a quiet voice as xe approached.

“My name is Malkut. I am a healer. I see that you are injured, may I offer my assistance?”

“Ash; and I mean… if you want to play doctor I’ve got to get to know you a little better than this, dude. If you can do anything that involves me staying here and staying dressed though, knock yourself out. This hurts like a motherfucker.”

Shay and Jon shook their heads; simultaneously paling as Ash continued to speak. Their discomfort made xem smile as xe extended xeir hand to take Ash’s hand and sent xeir power through it. 

Ash gasped as a what felt like a wave of warmth pulsed down their arm, spreading into their chest and relaxing them, if not fixing them outright.

Malkut’s eyes were closed, xe was using xeir power to explore the damaged skin, the muscle with bruised blood vessels. But there was a kind of fuzzing xe had never experienced before, and although xe could lessen the damage and speed the healing, xe couldn’t actually encourage the flesh to be completely restored.

“You’re… fascinating.” Malkut exclaimed, opening xeir eyes and staring at Ash, who turned a deeper shade of green. Malkut closed xeir eyes again, intending to make a second attempt before collapsing to the ground, asleep. Chised laughed, extremely hard, before scooping malkut up with one arm and carrying xem back to a chair. The music pumping through the massive building and the dense crowd of people beyond the entryway gave xem a bit of breathing room as Chised tucked Malkut into a side room to nap.


	3. Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5am conversations, dreams and nightmares.

Ash watched the tall, angular orno get scooped up and could almost feel the night get less interesting. Chised smirked at them, and with a quiet be right back ducked off into a side room. That bird was.. well xe seemed… stressed. Well at least they could probably sell some pot to xem. They tried to calm the blush on their cheeks as they turned back to ask their new acquaintances who else they should be introduced to.

“Alright so that was weird, right? Where to next?”

Ash turned to face Jon and Shay, only to pause at the twin, shocked expressions on their faces. 

“You… did you knock xem out?”

“Dude; xe said you were interesting, Malkut isn't interested in things, what the fuck,”

“Are you…” Jon asked, pointing a trembling finger.

Fuck. Ash could feel themself paling, feel the blood rushing from their face. They must have seen a poster or heard an alert and they were putting it together now. Fuck, man they hadn't even been in town long enough to ditch, no money and surrounded by-

“You're some kind of fucking cryptid, dude!” Shay laughed out, reaching out a hand to grab Ash's and lead them deeper into the crowd. 

“Never thought I'd see the day Malkut expressed an emotion other than annoyance. I'm honestly not sure what to do right now.”

As the white-lightning jolt of panic and adrenaline ebbed, Ash followed quickly.

"Oh yeah, dude, I'm a cryptid for sure. I mean have your ever seen a picture of me before? Legends of the mighty Ashwyn appearing at parties and getting shitfaced have spread across every campus in the world, haven't you heard?" 

"You can't just spread your own cryptid legend. I'm pretty sure that's not how it works?" 

Shay looked at Jon for confirmation, but he just shook his head and shrugged. 

Ash's hands were still shaking from when they thought they were getting called out, but they soon found their stride. Wheeling and dealing, handing out samples and establishing a base of customers; it wasn't long before everyone who was interested in smoke had some, and Ash had a little bit of spending cash. This part, at least, was familiar. Jon and Shay were dragging them along, introducing them to people whose names Ash knew they wouldn't remember; telling people that their phone had just broken and they were working on getting a new one. They eventually managed to peel themself away from the two to grab a drink. Ash almost hesitated at seeing a fully stocked bar, but then decided they might as well take advantage of this rich fucks here with a drink. Or three. Okay, Ash thought, well, they're free. Hell; this bartender seems nice enough even if xeir really quiet. They read the sign on the bar, more a piece of paper really, that declared that xeir name was Chokma, that xe didn't speak much, and that xe would be happy to get your drink. Ash blew through drinks, seeing another orno down the bar getting flirted with and felt a flash of bitter jealousy, scanning the crowd for someone they knew wouldn't be there as they taped the blank, powered down screen of their phone. 

By the time Chokma cut them off with a quick shake of the head at a perfectly reasonable request to just hand them the bottle, Ash had gotten totally and quite hilariously drunk. It had been a rough few weeks since they'd gotten left, and this was the first time they really felt ahead of the feds tracking them, so of course it was okay to cut a bit loose, right? 

They felt like shit; too warm and their joints starting to ache. Drinking played hell on their body, it made their powers less responsive; made them weaker. They weren’t here to show off though so it wasn’t like it really mattered. Wasn't like anything really mattered any-fucking-way. 

The rest of their night passed in mostly a blur; a few party tricks helped to pass the time. They graffitied "fuck cops" in moss on the bathroom mirror, grew some flowers for some pretty people, and wondered where that orno from earlier had gotten to. Xe looked like xe would be fun to mess with. They eventually asked Chised where they should crash and xe lead them to a room where every available square foot was covered in cushions, couches, hammocks, and sleeping bags. Chised laughed at them as Ash threw a blanket over someone's uncovered sleeping form. Ash crashed, hard, and Chised heard them mumble that they didn't want em to be cold. 

Malkut usually had enough energy left to prevent dreams. Manipulation of xeir own brain was complex, but it was xeirs and not exceptionally taxing. It just required intense concentration to not make a costly mistake. Xe couldn't even muster the amount of energy necessary to seize control of those processes, and so xe dreamt. It was odd, xe thought, to be aware of being asleep.  
In the odd way of dreams, xe began to move. Landscapes and colors blurred around xem, faster and faster. Nothing more than brief impressions, details imagined or altogether nonexistent. 

Xe stands in xeir childhood home, sibling smiling brightly.

A patient lies on an operating table and xeir power slid off of them like it did off of that strange green human from earlier.

Netza smiling wickedly as xe orders Ketier's execution

A flash of bright magenta feathers, of Ketier's feathers and xe felt something in xeir stomach drop. Xe wasn't going to watch an execution; after all of the work it took to get Ketier to Earth in the first place. 

Xe felt a weight around them, and heard a heavily slurred voice whisper

“Well they could have tucked you in and at least made you comfortable; I'm gonna tell Chised xe needs to make sure to tuck everyone in,”

Malkut smirked as xe felt xeir focus return and, with a moment’s concentration, dropped xeirself into black oblivion. Xe knew that waking now would tax xeir already strained reserves, and so xe slept. In the yawning nothing xe was reminded of Votakh, as xe often was, preaching of peace in nonexistence. As always, it was just out of Malkut's reach. 

A few hours later, xe snapped xeir eyes open. Malkut stood, ready to throw off the ridiculous blanket and snap at someone. As xe looked around the room, the only figure xe spotted was the human who had introduced themself as Ash the previous evening. Malkut took the blanket xe was holding and considered for a moment. It wasn't their fault that Ash hadn't known Malkut didn't enjoy the feeling of blankets, and they seemed to be deeply asleep. Sighing xeir most put upon sigh, xe flicked the cover up so it caught the air and gently covered Ash's sleeping form. 

Malkut could almost hear Chised laughing at xem as xe started to walk toward the kitchen. Xe shook xeir head, ignoring the feeling as xe went. Xe had to step over the unconscious forms of several partygoers. Odd, Chised almost always directed people to what xe calls the crash room, but Malkut had only seen xeirself and Ashwynn there.xe puzzled on that for a moment as xe arrived at the kitchen. Perhaps, Malkut thought as xe pulled open the fridge, perhaps Chised found someone to spend the evening with. Xeir thoughts turned then, to Ketier. Xe idly wondered, as xe looked in the fridge and saw rows and rows of prepared foods, if Ketier had even checked on xem when xe collapsed earlier, or if xe had been too caught up in whoever was hoping to use them this time to notice. Xe wished… but it didn't matter, of course. Malkut stood, outlined by the light of the fridge and lost in thought. Xe pulled dish after dish out of the fridge, snacking as xe went and feeling the energy xe had expended using xeir powers slowly seep back into xeir muscles. It was routine for xem to mechanically shovel the food into xeir mouth, and so xe was completely zoned out when xe clipped the plate and it shattered on the tile floor. Xe sighed as xe knelt to pick the pieces up.

“Hey, uh, magic-goth-doctor-Malkut. You’re not gonna like… faint again? If I try and help you with that?”

Mortified, Malkut looked at the doorway into the kitchen where Ash stood. They pulled what looked to be a grocery bag out of a pocket and held it open. 

"I don't usually faint, I'll have you know."

"Yeah; I get that I'm hot as hell. Do you want my help or not?" 

Malkut grimaced and dumped the shards into the proffered bag, shaking xeir head. 

"No, I promise I was just… tired from work. I'd been awake for a few days at the teaching hospital, and came straight here. I shouldn't have used my abilities like that; it was a mistake I thought myself long past."

"Ah shit dude, yeah. We all fuck up sometimes, right?"

"Hm. No. I can not allow myself that. Not while I’m at this school."

Ash laughed and shook their head, tying the bag closed and setting it on the counter. 

"It sounds like you're gonna do it anyway, then. Malkut, right? Is all that food… was that just… sitting in the fridge? Already made?" 

Malkut chuckles bitterly and gestures toward the counter, and pressed a glass panel, revealing a number of tablets, stacked and charging.

“If the guest kitchen bothers you, wait until you learn about the guest tablets and how often they’re stolen.”

Ash valiantly resisted the urge to slip a few of them in their bag, but Malkut saw how their eyes lingered. 

"Ash, I'm going to go out to smoke. I'll be out on the porch, just down the hall. If you'd like to join me, that is."

Xe grabbed one last plate, this one loaded with heavily decorated pastries. Xe gestured at the kitchen, the memory of Ketier and that human flirting at the party still hot in xeir mind. Ash handed xem something hand-rolled and malkut accepted it with a grin and a nod. 

"Feel free to grab something for yourself first, though."

Malkut stepped out to the porch and stood in the darkness, a cherry-red glow greeting the dawn. It wasn't long before Ash joined xem. 

"What do you want, dude?"

"Honestly? Right now? I want to stand here, with someone who knows nothing about me; who expects nothing from me. To share an experience that isn't my job or my skills. For a brief moment, until everyone wakes up and life is hectic and stressful, I want things to be easy."

Ash reached out and took the proffered joint from Malkut's hand, and took a deep drag. They patted their new tablet, tucked safely away in their bag. 

"Yeah, Malkut. I can do easy."


	4. Coming to a head.

Easy, as it turned out, was just smoking Malkut out. It didn't sit right with Ash, and it probably wouldn't until they had something over xem to balance it out. They watched the sun rise with xem, and knew both of them were beyond high. When the light caught Malkut's feathers and the shadows they cast made xem somehow sharper, Ash is almost sure that instead of thinking that it was pretty, they said it. That would explain Malkut's cleared throat and mumbled thank you, at least. It didn't help that as they basked in the sun Ash was pretty sure they started blooming. 

Ash was fiddling with another joint, debating about asking for a light, when Malkut decided to speak.

“I know that you’re new in town. Thank you for letting me vent and mope. The next time Chised throws a party like this, will you be here?” 

Ash locked up when xe asked. They owed Malkut, but they’d stayed free this long by being unpredictable. It would have been easy to say yes, but somehow it was terrifying enough to be here with this person they barely knew. They had to get out of there, and soon.

“I’m not super sure! I’m a busy person, you know how it is!”

They could see Malkut sag a bit at that answer, and something in their chest twisted. Xe was already stressed enough that xe was stress-venting because xe thought Ash was fuckable or something. They couldn’t help but wonder if they really had to make it worse. 

“Add me on burnr. It’s an end to end encrypted texting app so like… it doesn’t matter really what that means, but I’m on there. GenderlessGreen. I might not come here but… I might.” 

Malkut’s mouth pulled up into something approaching a real smile at that, what a shock. Ash watched as xe started to download the app, and decided, again, that it was time to leave. They’d snagged a few things from the kitchen, they’d made a little cash off the rich kids. It was a better haul than most pit stops. But… they’d never had a chance to be around so many people with powers before. And sure the longer they stayed the bigger the risk, but they hadn’t been caught so far, right? A week and they’d decide how they felt about longer then.

“Listen here sharp, dark, and cute. I’ve gotta bolt. Find a place to hole up and crash there. I know that I still owe you and I’ll do my best to get even. I know you find me fascinating, so if you want something… well, you have a way to get a hold of me. And to text me.”

They shrugged their backpack on, and were about to start to get going when malkut surprised them yet again. 

“Chised has rooms that xe rents out for people. I don’t know where they are located or what condition they’re in, I just remember that xe said something about getting me one that nobody knew about the last time we spoke concerning… a mutual friend. If you wait here until xe awakens, you could probably secure a location to sleep without having to put into motion whatever plan you were going to try.” 

“I appreciate the offer, dude. You do know I can take care of myself though, right?”

“Yes. I have no doubt you can. I’m simply concerned that my lab assistant will end up sleeping outside when you take over his bed if I allow you to. I do understand that we just met, and that you might be reserved or hesitant to take anything I offer you. Perhaps you’re right, but I do find you incredibly interesting, Ash.”

Ash could feel their face flush a bit at that, but rolled their eyes instead. 

“So far you haven’t even shown that you can touch me without fainting, doc, so I’m not too worried about you. Also? You don’t have to keep flattering me. I know exactly what I am, and if you’re that interested? Make a move.”

Ash was fuckin’ tired of dancing around it. Xe obviously knew Ash was cool as hell, and had people want to fuck them for less. Xe wasn’t bad looking at all, and with those powers Malkut was packing Ash was sure they’d get off. For a second Malkut’s eyes seem to take Ash in, lingering on their hips and their neck before xe opens xeir mouth. Ash was surprised at what xe said.

“You’re absolutely correct. My apologies; I never ended up treating that injury of yours. Your hand again, if you would?”

Okay; maybe Malkut isn’t being deliberately obtuse. Maybe xe doesn’t want to fuck? Or maybe xe doesn’t want to feel like xe’s pressuring Ash. That’s kind of cute, actually. Fine. They’d take it slow for now, and see how things went from here. It wasn’t like they had a place to be, and Malkut had been a life-saver up until this point. 

Ash reached out one hand and Malkut took it. In a moment, that same warmth from last night flowed through them, relaxing tense muscles and smoothing old breaks. Ash could feel Malkut’s power much more powerfully than the last time that xe used it. With the bright light bathing their skin and the warmth of Malkut’s ability flowing through them, they turned their focus inward too. Somehow, they could almost see the pattern of Malkut’s awareness in their body, pulsing and mapping and then retreating before pulsing a bit deeper. It was highlighting some pieces and leaving others dark. Ash used just a touch of power to make something dark grow.

“Malkut, can you see when I do that?”

“Mostly. It’s a bit muted; almost like when I first started working on humans. Allow me to try something and see if that brings you into greater clarity. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s cool.”

Ash felt xem take xeir hand out of theirs, felt it trail up their arm and leave goosebumps along the way. God, maybe xe did want to fuck?

“Ash? There is something here that I can’t quite make out clearly. Can you help?”

Malkut laid xeir other hand on Ash’s lower back, sending another pulse of warmth through them. Ash concentrated, and realized that at some point they’d reinforced themself there to help support their backpack’s weight one day a long time ago when it started to pull real bad after they rolled from a moving car. They took a deep breath and began to undo the work, the process requiring every ounce of their focus. It was almost enough to keep from hearing Malkut’s sharply indrawn breath. 

“Damage to the sacrospinalis, I’m pretty sure a slipped disc, and… something else. Can you work with me to help you out here? I can take care of the organic materials, but how fine is your control? Could you make an internal brace and then dissolve it in a few days when it was no longer needed?”

Ash opened their eyes and saw malkut looking at them, golden eyes lit up with excitement. 

“Um, maybe? Can you get the alcohol out of my system? It’d help with that, a whole bunch.”

“Yes, that makes sense. I can accelerate your body’s natural purification processes, you’ll likely sweat a lot. Water?”

Ash pulled a bottle from their bag and began to chug. Malkut was right, it was sweaty, but as the lingering alcohol cleared their system and the full awareness of their body returned, they kind of got what malkut was asking them to do. 

“Yeah, I can.”

Ash opened themself up to the sun, skin deepening in its green color and leaves beginning to sprout from their body. A sudden rush of energy hit them, and they smiled. The fuckin sun, man. 

“What did you just do? Your blood sugar levels spiked and. I see. Hm. Ash you are absolutely fascinating!”

Ash was about to ask xem to just drop the flattery and fuck them, and then heard a small pop as their back shifted and an ache they had been trying to ignore for years spiked and then faded away. A thought and a small group of vines grew around the newly re-aligned injury, holding it in place and then growing outward as the hot goth did whatever xe was doing and the muscle grew back in place. Another quick thought and the vines pierced their skin and fell to the ground as the skin and muscle kind of pinched it closed. That was a neat move, and one they would have to try and remember for next time. 

"Maybe not a few days, then." 

It was at this moment that Chised stepped out. Of course it was, xe always knew when to arrive to make the greatest fool of Malkut. Hand inappropriately placed on a human’s lower back, golden eyes shining in the dawn, crumbs and fillings from a bunch of pastries still dusting xeir feathers. Malkut thought xe looked like the party had never stopped. Malkut jerked xeir hand back from Ash, and turned to face xeir friend. 

“Hello! I was seeing that the two of you were getting along!"

"Hello, Chised. We were actually just recently discussing you."

Malkut began asking Chised about prices, and when xe turned around Ash was halfway across the lawn,bag hoisted, looking like they had no intention of stopping. Malkut looked perturbed, but when xe called out Ash simply responded that they'd text xem. 

"Malkut," Chised began, "it seems you are going out of your way to be helpful for this new person, but did you ask if they wanted your help?"

Xeir pride caught in xeir throat, xe responded.

"No."

This far away from the house it was cold enough that Ash could see their breath in the air. There were always places in towns that someone could knock in and hide out in, but with the money they'd made off the rich kids last night they could at least grab a motel room for a night while they explored. It was a matter of a few minutes for them to find a bus schedule and hop onto one into whatever qualified as the downtown to this place. They couldn't stop thinking about Malkut's hands on them, and how warm xe was. 

They checked in to a room at a place that looked like it should have been shut down years ago. They pulled a hot plate from their bag and started some water going for tea, set their bag against the foot of the bed, laid back and relaxed for a second. 

They started imagining things going differently back on the porch. Malkut bringing that warm hand around their front and teasing them with it, grabbing their hair and bringing them to their knees. 

"I want something easy, Ash. And I think right now? That looks like you."

Ash imagined kissing xeir thighs, bringing a hand up to work xem. They slipped a hand across their stomach and down into their pants, panting just a touch as their fingers came away slick. 

They brought their other hand up, teasing and playing with their chest as they continued to work their pussy. They imagined Malkut holding them down, hand pulsing with that same warmth, as they slipped a finger inside. 

"Your hand again, Ash. I'm going to use you to get off, and you'd better appreciate it. 

They thought about those golden eyes looking at them and being told to cum, over and over, as Malkut's power worked to make it happen. 

They thought about shuddering around Malkut's fingers, about that voice that called them fascinating so many times, as they came on their own.

Ash looked at themself in the clarity that so often came post-orgasm, pulled their shorts the rest of the way down; they were turned on as hell after that, and decided to settle in. Exploring the town could wait until they'd cum so many times it made up for having to do it alone.


End file.
